Six things we learned from Albion's win at Swansea

Brighton are up to eighth in the Premier League after a 1-0 win at Swansea this afternoon. Here's six things we learned from the game.

Albion's gr-eight start

Referee Mike Dean. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)

Albion sit eighth in the Premier League this evening and it's fair to say their start has exceeded expectations.

The Seagulls have 15 points from 11 matches and have been in every match they've played this season. Chris Hughton has assembled a squad of hard-working, battling players who will give their all. The team look solid in defence and have enough attacking flair to cause problems.

Being critical, their start could have been even better as Brighton's players still look back on matches with Bournemouth, Everton and Southampton as missed opportunities for more points.

But Brighton go into the international break pleased with their efforts so far. Home games against Stoke and Crystal Palace in two of their next three games bring the potential for the start to become even better!

Glenn Murray continued his hot streak in front of goal as he netted for the third successive Premier League match for the first time since April, 2015.

An ankle injury led to a frustrating start to the season for Murray but he has now netted four times in three matches, after his double at West Ham and goals against Southampton and Swansea.

Today's was as simple as they come and surely one of the easiest of his 177 career goals.

Anthony Knockaert whipped in a teasing left-wing cross from the right and Murray kneed the ball home from a couple of yards after Federico Fernandez missed the ball.

Seagulls boss Chris Hughton also praised the 34-year-old striker afterwards for scoring with his only chance, saying "That's what Glenn does."

Swans' home woes

Swansea went into the game with five defeats from six games at the Liberty Stadium this season and their home woes continued today.

The hosts were careless in position throughout. Too often, their final ball was misplaced and the home supporters became more and more frustrated as the half went on.

One Swans fan shouted "Come on Swansea, we're better than this" when the Seagulls were pushing for a second in the first half after Glenn Murray's opener. Swansea players Sam Clucas and Tom Carroll were on the receiving end of much of the home fans' frustrations for their performances - Clucas kicked out at some kit as he reached the dug-out after he had unsurpisingly been substituted.

As another home attack was thwarted late on, one frustrated Swans fan screamed: "You get paid tens of thousands and don't deserve a penny."

Future England internationals?

Two potential future England internationals came up against each other as Lewis Dunk marked Swans striker Tammy Abraham.

Abraham is in the England squad for the friendlies with Germany and Brazil, while Dunk was not picked in the 25-man squad despite a strong start to life in the Premier League.

In a cagey start, there were few clear chances early on, although Dunk's central defensive partner Shane Duffy superbly cleared a low Kyle Naughton cross for a corner early on with Abraham waiting to tap home at the back post had the ball reached him.

Abraham, who chose to join the Swans on loan from Chelsea instead of Albion in the summer, should have drawn the hosts level early in the second half when he got played through on goal but Mathew Ryan was quick off his line to keep the Swans' striker's shot out.

Dunk was again solid in defence with Duffy and the duo have rightly received praise from many pundits for their form so far this season.

Man in the middle

On a chilly day at the Liberty Stadium, Mike Dean refereed an Albion game for the first time since the Championship promotion-decider at Middlesbrough in May, 2016.

The 49-year-old official controversially sent off Brighton midfielder Dale Stephens - Albion fans to this day feel harshly - at the Riverside Stadium. Albion needed to win the game to be promoted, while Boro needed only a draw to go up and the game finished 1-1.

Seagulls supporters have not forgotten the incident and Dean was booed as he ran towards the away end before the match kicked-off, while he was also on the end of a few chants from away fans during the game.

There weren't any controversial incidents during the game and it was a comfortable afternoon for the man in the middle.

Set-piece shockers

Swansea's set-pieces and crosses into the penalty area were shocking for much of the match.

Tom Carroll, Sam Clucas and Ki Sung-Yueng were the main culprits as deliveries were sent into the first man or over-hit and then went out for goal kicks.

With two weeks until their next match, Swansea boss Paul Clement will surely have his team working on their delivery during the international break.

The Swans were the worst side Albion have come up against this season, which makes the three points even more important.

One of the few bits of quality in the match was Anthony Knockaert's superb cross, which set up Glenn Murray for the only goal.